The Boston Celtics return to the TD Garden on Saturday night for the first game on their home court since they won the NBA Finals in June.

The last time the TD Garden was filled with Celtics fans was Jun. 17, as confetti was falling, Jaylen Brown was named MVP, and the Celtics raised the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the air as a team.

As the C’s prepare for their third preseason game, it’ll be the first time they play in front of their fans as champions and the team is ready to put on for the city.

After Friday’s practice, Derrick White said that he’s excited to play in Boston and see the fans again. He also explains that preseason games in Boston is different than in most other cities.

“I’m excited. I haven’t been back since the parade, so looking forward to being back in the Garden again. I was telling some of my people, I was like, usually the preseason everywhere else, energy’s kind of down in the arena, but in Boston, it’s always up. And so I don’t think it’s gonna be any different this year. It’s probably gonna be even more.”

The Celtics haven’t played a game in five days, but Payton Pritchard is using this opportunity to his advantage as a test to go through ahead of the regular season. He also mentions that he doesn’t know if everybody is going to play this weekend, but he knows that he will.

“I don’t know if everybody’s gonna play, but I know I will. So I’m looking forward to it, just because we get back-to-backs in the regular season. Obviously there’s nothing to these games, but he helps to prepare your body for what that’s like and what your routine’s gotta be like to play at a high level. So it’s just a test run, and I’m definitely gonna take advantage of it.”

Pritchard continued by saying that this can be a great learning experience for the young guys on the team to prepare for a back-to-back and what they can learn from the veterans on the team.

“It’s going to be very important. I feel like for me, every year I learn new ways; how to take care of my body, what I need to eat, how much I need to rest to perform at my best, and that’s just stuff you don’t know as a young player. So I feel like guys like Baylor [Scheierman], any of the young ones, you’ve got great vets to learn from, learn what they’re doing, pick up from them, and hopefully you learn quickly rather than later.”

The back-to-backs in the NBA puts a toll on the body if it’s not prepared for it. On the Celtics, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis will not be playing in back-to-back games in an effort to keep them fresh throughout the season and in the playoffs.

The Celtics will host two games this weekend against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors before traveling to Toronto for the last game of the preseason.

Boston will play three games in four nights to close out their preseason.

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Photo Credit: David L. Nemec, NBAE Getty Images